118099: ‘Umar did not seek the help of Allaah by virtue of the status of al-‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him)

Hadeeth: Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him) narrated that when they suffered drought, ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) would seek rain by virtue of al-‘Abbaas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib, and he would say: “O Allaah, we used to ask You for rain by virtue of our Prophet and You gave us rain. Now we ask You for rain by virtue of the paternal uncle of our Prophet, so give us rain” and they would be given rain. Is this saheeh? Is this evidence that it is permissible to seek the help of Allaah by virtue of the status of the awliya’ (close friends of Allaah)?.

Praise be to Allaah.

The hadeeth referred to by the questioner is a saheeh hadeeth
which was narrated by al-Bukhaari, but anyone who studies it will find that
it is evidence that one should not seek help from Allaah by virtue of the
status of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) or of
anyone else, because tawassul (using a means to achieve a goal) and
al-waseelah is the thing that helps you to achieve that goal. The waseelah
referred to in this hadeeth (“we used to ask You for rain by virtue of our
Prophet and You gave us rain. Now we ask You for rain by virtue of the
paternal uncle of our Prophet, so give us rain” and they would be given
rain) is seeking the help of Allah by virtue of the du’aa’ of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), as a man said: “O
Messenger of Allaah, our wealth has been destroyed and the roads are cut
off, so pray to Allaah to help us.” And because ‘Umar said to al-‘Abbaas:
“Get up, O ‘Abbaas, and pray to Allaah, so he prayed to Allaah.” If this had
come under the heading of seeking Allaah’s help by virtue of a person’s
status only, then ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) would have sought
the help ofo Allaah by virtue of the status of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) before doing so by virtue of the status of
al-‘Abbaas, because the status of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) is greater before Allaah than that of al-‘Abbaas or
anyone else. If this hadeeth came under the heading of seeking the help of
Allaah by virtue of status that it would have been more appropriate for the
ameer al-mu’mineen ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) to seek the help
of Allaah by virtue of the status of the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him), not the status of al-‘Abbaas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib.

To sum up, there is nothing wrong with seeking the help of
Allaah by means of the du’aa’ of a person who it is hoped will have his
du’aa’s answered because of his righteousness. The Sahaabah (may Allaah be
pleased with them) used to seek the help of Allaah by means of the du’aa’ of
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) for them.
Similarly, ‘Umar sought the help of Allaah by means of the du’aa’ of
al-‘Abbaas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib (may Allaah be pleased with him). So if you
think a man is righteous and likely to have his du’aa’s answered because his
food, drink, clothing and housing are halaal, and because he is known to be
a man of worship and piety, there is nothing wrong with asking him to pray
to Allaah for you and ask for what you like, on condition that this does not
stir up self-admiration in this person whom you ask to make du’aa’ for you.
If it does stir up self-admiration, then it is not permissible for you to
doom him by making this request of him, because that will harm him.

I also say: This is permissible, but I do not recommend it. I
think that each person should ask Allaah by himself, without appointing any
intermediary between him and Allaah. That brings a greater hope and is
nearer to fear of Allaah. I also encourage anyone who asks his brother whose
du’aa’s he hopes will be answered to make du’aa’ for him, to intend thereby
to treat him kindly – i.e., the one who will make du’aa’ – and not do it for
the sake of meeting his own needs, because if he asks him for the sake of
meeting his own needs, then it will become like asking him for money and the
like, which is blameworthy. But if he intends thereby to benefit his brother
who will make du’aa’ by treating him kindly, then treating a Muslim kindly
is something for which a person will be rewarded, as is well known – and
that is better. And Allaah is the source of strength. End quote.

Majmoo’ Fataawa wa Rasaa’il Ibn ‘Uthaymeen
(2/277).

For more information on the hadeeth about ‘Umar seeking the help of Allaah by virtue of al-‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with them both) and the fact that this tawassul was by virtue of his du’aa’ and not of his status, please see the book al-Tawassul by Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him), pp. 50-68.